Paris hosts an international conference on Sudan

France – An international conference on Sudan will open today, Monday, in the French capital, Paris, coinciding with the first anniversary of the start of the war, which the Sudanese government had previously denounced for ignoring it by those in charge of the conference.

The meeting, which Germany is co-chairing, includes a political part at the ministerial level, to try to find ways out of the conflict, and a humanitarian part whose goal is to mobilize donations and provide aid to Sudan. It also includes a meeting of about 40 figures from civil society.

Deputy spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lemoyne, said: “The idea is to return the crisis to the top of the agenda. Sudan must not be allowed to become a forgotten crisis.”

The French Foreign Ministry stressed that “international attention is focused on the Gaza Strip and Ukraine more than on Sudan,” noting that the Sudanese crisis is “humanitarian but also geopolitical.” She said, “The risk of Sudan disintegrating and destabilizing the entire Horn of Africa is very great.”

The French Foreign Ministry explained that “funding for the United Nations humanitarian appeal last year amounted to only half.” This year, the financing rate did not exceed 5%,” stressing that she does not expect to fill this deficit during the Paris conference, “but we hope that the international community will wake up.”

The “donors” conference in Paris will seek to address the weakness of emergency funding in Sudan and neighboring countries and the shortfall amounting to more than $2.5 billion.

At the political level, political meetings are scheduled to be held with the participation of neighboring countries Chad, Libya, Kenya, Djibouti, South Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, in addition to Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, the United States, Britain and Norway.

Regional organizations such as the League of Arab States, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in addition to United Nations agencies, will also attend the conference. The meeting hopes to “agree on a declaration of principles and conduct an evaluation of various peace initiatives” in Sudan, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

In conjunction with the conference, about 40 people representing Sudanese civil society are meeting at the Arab World Institute in Paris. The French Foreign Ministry confirmed that these people, including activists, trade unionists, researchers, journalists, businessmen and others, will have “a space to talk about the path of peace and the post-war phase.”

Human Rights Watch’s Horn of Africa Director, Letisa Badr, urged the issuance of a “strong message” and international sanctions against both sides of the war who “prevented the arrival of humanitarian aid,” looted what arrived, and planned operations to “kill humanitarian workers,” in addition to a series of violations against Civilians.

She stressed that “it is necessary for this conference to be held, but it must not become an excuse… to restore Sudan once again.”

Paris is hosting the International Conference for Sudan, one year after the start of the war between the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Al-Burhan and Hamidati

Three days before the conference was held, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which it expressed its astonishment and denunciation, “that this conference would be held on an issue of the affairs of Sudan, an independent and sovereign state and a member of the United Nations, without consultation or coordination with its government and without its participation, even though it is exclusively the one that It represents the country internationally and in various regional and international bodies, organizations and forums, and exchanges diplomatic representation with various countries of the world, including France itself.

In a statement last Friday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry considered this French move “a course that represents a gross disregard for international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the principle of state sovereignty,” adding that “hiding behind the pretext of neutrality between what the organizers call two parties to a conflict to justify ignoring Sudan is a worthless argument that is unacceptable and represents A dangerous precedent in international relations.”

The statement considered, “Equality between the legitimate government and the national army, on the one hand, and a multinational terrorist militia that targets the state institution itself and practices genocide and the worst human rights violations, on the other hand, would undermine the foundations of regional and international security.”

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry considered, in its statement, that this approach “encourages similar terrorist movements in Africa and the Middle East to escalate their criminal activities because it will be an excuse for Western powers to ignore the sovereignty of the affected countries and their legitimate governments under the pretext of neutrality,” noting that “the militia’s regional sponsors and its political wing will participate in the meeting.” “.

Al-Kafroun camp for Sudanese refugees, eastern Chad

It is noteworthy that within one year, the war in Sudan led to thousands of deaths, including up to 15 thousand people in one of the cities of West Darfur, according to United Nations experts. The war also pushed the country, with a population of 48 million, to the brink of famine, destroyed the already dilapidated infrastructure, and displaced more than 8.5 million people, according to the United Nations.

The non-governmental organization Action Against Hunger stressed the need for “urgent” action in Chad to provide aid to refugees flowing across the border from neighboring Sudan.

For his part, the Director of Sudan at the Norwegian Refugee Council, William Carter, stressed that “civilians are suffering from hunger, massive sexual violence, large-scale ethnic massacres, and executions, and yet the world continues to look the other way.”

He stressed in a statement that “today, the anniversary of the war, represents a shameful milestone for the two warring parties in Sudan, in addition to the international community that allowed this disaster to get worse.”

While about 25 million people in Sudan, or about half of the population, need assistance, the head of the MSF mission, Jean Stowell, warned in a statement of “a very worrying humanitarian vacuum.”

He said, “In addition to deaths related to acts of violence, we see children dying from malnutrition and lack of vaccines, and women suffering complications after dangerous births.”

Mediation efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia have faltered for months. Last Thursday, the US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, expressed his hope that the Paris conference would help resume the talks.